Stella's Corner :
the Latest Animal Welfare News

Our regular updates start here...

On this page Argos founder Stella will regularly bring
you up to date news on a wide range of subjects concerning
the shelters activities and any other information that
concerns animal welfare in general. Whatever the news and
however it affects the shelter and its mission, our
supporters have a right to know.

Dear supporters here are August 2013 monthly updates.

Dogs

New

6

Charlie, Leyna, Terry, Nina, Digger,
Chloe.

Total Rehomed

17

Breakdown

Died

3

Giggs,Chips, Ralph.

Cyprus

9

Baz, Chalky, Jemima, Massey, Digger,
Fergie, Erika, Falcon, Harvey.

Germany

5

Rosa, Opal, Sylke, Cassius, Reece.

UK

3

Pipa, Lulu, Daisy.

Cats

New

0

Total Rehomed

0

Breakdown

Cyprus

Germany

Died

Another food donation from Germany – 27/08/13.

Our German friends and colleagues have once again
arranged for another food delivery of 3 large pallets each
weighing 534kg for the dogs in a concerted effort to help
us sustain them. Not only are they helping us with
food but they are trying very hard to rehome as many dogs
as possible, thereby alleviating some of the pressure from
the many animals at the shelter. Unfortunately
though, as fast as we are trying to rehome the situation
is not getting any better for they are still being
abandoned in droves.

Peter and Karin Wehrlin – Switzerland.

Peter and Karin Wehrlin have been coming to Cyprus for
many years and having a home here, they consider Cyprus
their home away from home. Back in Switzerland they
volunteer for the local dog shelter to walk dogs.
About 3 years ago on one of their trips here they looked
us up and have been walking Argos dogs as well and have
donated money to the shelter each time they visit.
Peter and Karin have informed me that they will visit
Cyprus again in October and have asked if we would be
interested in having a solar system installation to enable
us at least to run a refrigerator, a few lights and the
washing machine. Some of the equipment he has had donated
from a friend of his in Switzerland and will bring it with
him and the remaining items needed for the installation,
he will buy in Cyprus as a donation from himself and
Karin. Of course we accepted and thanked them very
much for their kindness and generosity to help us with
such an installation as we are not connected with any
power other than generators to carry out other chores and
these fuel costs are high. We will give updates and photos
of the installation in our October updates.

Anne Chougal – Belgium.

Anne is another of our long-standing supporters who
follows all our news and updates with interest and has
supported many of our projects financially. Anne has
always surprised us with her sensitivity and generosity.
Last year Anne also came to our Dog Walk and volunteered
on our stalls and generally helped wherever hands were
needed. On many occasions Anne has donated
individual amounts of €1,000 and recently has sponsored
entirely one of the issues of our 2014 Calendar which has
been printed both in desk and wall formats. Photo
attached of our front page Calendar 2014.
Apart from this financial support, Anne also donates items
for our charity shops. Many thanks to Anne for her love of
animals and her loyal and constant support to their cause.

Tricia and Bobby Lilley - UK.

I cannot actually remember the first time I met Tricia
and Bobby which of course gives you an indication of how
long it has been. The first time was when they
contacted me out of the blue with a huge donation of items
for our charity shops and I believe it was also when they
moved to Cyprus from the UK. Tricia and Bobby
came to the shelter on a weekly basis bringing food and
titbits for the dogs, donating shop items and money.
When we were collecting leftover food from hotels and
restaurants to supplement the food for the animals, Tricia
and Bobby did the same in their town, collecting from two
tavernas and delivering to us.
They have always been generous and have donated on several
occasions also individual amounts of €1,000 to support
specific causes. They are sensitive and loyal
supporters of the animals but now we do not see them so
often as Bobby unfortunately is not very well and Tricia
is nursing him 24/7. Tricia though never forgets the
shelter and is always in contact if we need help.
Thank you to Tricia and Bobby for their love and loyalty
to the animals.

Mike Johnson – Major Marine Diesels Ltd.

Mike Johnson is a local and his business in building and
repairing generators is in the Xylotympou Industrial
Estate. We met him about 4 years ago when he and his
wife Fay, visited the shelter. They adopted a dog
and noticing that we had no power supply at the shelter,
he donated a generator to generate water from the borehole
for our cleaning purposes.
At a later stage he also built and donated a larger
generator which had the capacity to provide power for the
whole shelter. We know that to purchase such a generator
would have cost us thousands, money that we did not have
and would not have been able to accumulate at any time in
the near future for this purpose. It is an
invaluable asset as we use it constantly. Thank you
Mike and Fay for your generosity and support.
Indeed where would we be if it were not for all those
supporters both known and unknown who give generously so
that animals will have a chance to live as well but I hope
that at least we like to honour them in the best way we
can.
No School visits or presentations due to the School Summer
holidays

English Below

Dear friends and associates,

Cyprus Voice for Animals had a meeting with the new
Minister of Justice, Mr Ionas Nicolaou. The only
subject discussed was the establishment of an ‘Animal
Welfare Police’ which would be dedicated solely to
enforcing the provisions of the Animal Protection and
Welfare Law and all other laws relating to animals in
general (a demand repeatedly put on the table by us for
many years).

It is with great regret that we must inform you that
under the current circumstances this force CANNOT be
established, even though what we are talking about is a
mere 10-15 policemen for the whole of Cyprus. The minister
understands the various problems that arise in the
implementation of the Law but believes that these duties
should be undertaken by ‘Community Policing’, in other
words, neighbourhood police officers. Community policing
has not yet been established throughout Cyprus, and the
minister promised that it would soon be expanded
throughout the island. Instructions have been issued
for the neighbourhood police to be specially trained on
animal welfare and protection matters.

For this purpose, Mrs. Mary Anastasi, President of CVA
and lecturer at the Police Academy since 2009 on subjects
related to Raising Awareness on Animal Protection and
Welfare as well as Law 46(Ι), 1994, was invited to prepare
the content of these seminars and proceeded with the
presentation with an attendance of 70 neighbourhood
police.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Cyprus Chief of Police, Mr Michalis Papageorgiou for his
help in organising the seminars and the Police Academy for
facilitating them.

Finally, we wish to assure you that despite the current
lack of success, we will not give up and will continuously
work towards the goal of establishing an Animal
Protection Police Unit, however long it takes!

We will keep you informed of all developments.

Dear supporters please read this very important message
regarding MP'S on circuses June 28 2013

Thank you

Stella.

Cyprus Voice for Animals expresses its satisfaction
as the Cyprus Parliament voted and passed the
various amendments of the law on Animal
welfare (46 (I) 94 which are:

1. Ban the use of any animals in circuses

2. The administrative fines (up to 5000 Euros) in cases of
violation of the Law for Protection and Welfare of animals
or of the Regulations and Orders derived from the Law.

3. The prohibition of surgical operations for the purpose
of modifying the appearance of an animal or for other
non-curative purposes shall be prohibited and, in
particular the docking of tails, the cropping of ears,
devocalization, declawing and defanging. Exceptions to
these prohibitions shall be permitted only if a
veterinarian considers non-curative procedures necessary
either for veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit
of any particular animal and to prevent reproduction. The
owner of the animal must have documentation by the vet
verifying the necessity of the surgical operation.

4. The prohibition of the killing of animals for
entertainment. The prohibition does not apply to game
animals during hunting.

Cyprus is the second EU country, following
and Greece, that bans the use of all animals
in circuses. Well done Cyprus.

May 2013 Updates.

Parliamentary environmental committee session.

On 23rd May a meeting was held at the House of
Representatives to discuss the animal welfare law which is
under reform at present. In particular, it was to
discuss the banning of animals in circuses and the
implementation of an EU agreement on the banning of tail
docking.
Children from a primary school in Nicosia, together with
their teachers, gathered outside the House of
Representatives with placards asking for the ban of circus
animals to be implemented and they handed in their petition
to the environmental committee.
Attending the meeting were representatives of all the
relevant government departments, from the office of the
Attorney General, union of municipalities and communities,
pan-Cyprian Veterinary Association, animal welfare
organisations and the Cyprus Canine Association.
There was a consensus on the banning of animals in circuses,
a united front on the banning of tail docking from all
present except a strong opposition from the Canine
Association regarding the ban, particularly as regards to 4
specific breeds of dogs. They claimed that when the
dogs are out hunting they go into thorny thickets and as the
dog starts to wag his tail excitedly on seeing the prey, the
dog injures his tail on the thorns. One MP wanted to
know why only the tail got injured and not the rest of the
dog’s body!
A load of rubbish as far as we are concerned and probably,
as the dog wags its tail at seeing the bird in the bush, the
noise frightens it off and this is what they want to prevent
of course.
Anyhow, after everybody said their piece, the veterinary
services said that Cyprus had no choice but to implement the
ban because Cyprus had signed an EU agreement a few years
ago and are now set to ratify the terms of that agreement.

Our volunteers.

Although Argos is one of the five largest sanctuaries on the
island, its faithful volunteers can be counted on the
fingers of one hand. We have lost many volunteers due
to the economic hardships faced by the majority of the
island’s population and as hard as it has been for many,
luckily enough, our longstanding volunteers are still with
us and continue to apply their unique individual talents for
the benefit of the shelters animals. Their generosity
and support keeps us solvent for they not only give of their
valuable time but their wallets are also taxed to a greater
degree.
During the course of our monthly updates, Argos would like
to pay tribute to its volunteers who encompass the
fundraisers, the fosterers, those who promote our cause from
afar but at the same time to thank all its supporters who
donate either in goods for our charity shops, those who
sponsor our animals and those with cash donations.
Whatever method of support is adopted, they all contribute
to support the animals in our care. For this month, Argos
will pay tribute to two of its fundraisers and with every
monthly update, others will be mentioned for their services
to the shelter and to animal welfare in general.

Argos Support Norway.

Anne-Mari Helsing is one of our few loyal supporters from
Norway who first visited Argos in 2010 after she had rescued
a kitten called Amigo and then in 2011 her daughter rescued
another kitten, Pansy. Since then, Anne-Mari has
been a staunch supporter of the shelter and as a member of
the Norwegian Wolf Pack, the animal welfare cause in
general.
Apart from her own generous donations, Anne-Mari started the
Argos Support Norway by creating a link from our facebook
page to promote further the work of Argos in her home
land https://www.facebook.com/argossanctuary
and scrolling down on the right you will see Support
Argos.
The site promotes the sponsoring of our animals and all the
news and activities of the shelter. Anne-Marie works
hard to promote interest and posts stories and updates on
the sponsored animals for the benefit of the sponsors.
Anne-Mari’s dedication generates a lot of interest for our
mission, which would otherwise be unknown in Norway.
In her recent trip to Cyprus in May, Anne-Marie came with a
donation of 500 euros from sponsors, herself included, to
purchase necessary medications for both dogs and cats.
These included worming tablets and flea/tick control.

Anne-Mari and Stella at the vet clinic buying the
medications.

Chrystalla Kyriacou – fashion and art photographer
extraordinaire.

Our very talented marketing manager, Jo Bell, met Chrystalla
at one of the dogathons in Nicosia. Jo Bell was
interested in Chrystalla’s fashion work and knowing that she
was also a big animal lover they started discussing a
fundraising idea that Jo had which was to do a photo
exhibition. In Jo’s own words, ‘we spoke about getting
involved and Chrystalla’s ideas, organising abilities and
professionalism were amazing. That, combined with
Constantinos Sideris’ organising skills as well, the photo
exhibition materialised and the name ‘UNITE’ was
Chrystalla’s idea. Unite Exhibition took place
at the Hilton Hotel on 25 & 26 May 2012. The
exhibition’s organisers spent a great deal of time and money
promoting it and making it the success it was. All the
exhibited works were sold out and included photographic
works by Chrystalla and Constantinos Sideris.
Portraits for Life – Photo sessions 13th & 14th
April completed May 2013
A second fundraising idea formulated and here again,
Chrystalla’s amazing talents as a photographer excelled and
the end results of her work were exceptional. We don’t
realise just how much time it takes to take a photo in a
studio that should look so natural but at the same time have
a professional finish; how many photo shoots it takes
to get the right pose. Difficult enough when there are
children involved and almost impossible when it involves
people with their pets. Here is the test of a
true professional and Chrystalla is, without question,
an artist. Attached is a sample of her work and
depicts Chrystalla with her own pets. The flyer is a
further testament to her great and unique
work.
Chrystalla has again contributed so generously to this
project by paying for the studio sessions, mounting the
photographs and of course her valuable time in setting
up the studio and the time to do the photo shoots.

Stella.

Dear friends and supporters,
The new Dog Law Amendments issued by Ministry of Interior
were written only in Greek. Cyprus Voice for Animals (CVA)
sensing that the thousand of European Citizens,
and not only, living in Cyprus were entitled to read the
Dog Law Amendents at least in Enlish, we have asked our
devoted supporter and animal lover Ms Rhea Frangofinou, to
translate it into English which she gladly did, free of
charge.
Thank you very much Rhea.

Please read the ammentments and if you have any comments
on the already existing changes or you want to add any
other suggestions that you might feel that this law ought
to be changed too, please send it directly to ehadjisterkotis@moi.gov.cy
with a CC to zootropion@pansophic.com.cy
so that we can back up your suggestions
(if of course we agree with).

Thank you very much. Dead line for sending your comments
is December 28,
2012.

September News 2012.

Argos Annual
Statistics.

Every year all government registered animal welfare
organisations have to submit an annual report to the Chief
Vet showing their activities throughout the year. The
amount of the annual government grant is based on the extent
of the organisations activities.

Being one of the largest shelters on the island, we have
been receiving for the past 3 years an annual grant in the
sum of €7,500 (the highest amount granted to each of the 5
large shelters) which reflects the scope of our work
covering many aspects of animal welfare. Here below,
is our 2011 report as submitted to the authorities:

2011 Annual
Report.

Dog Runs.

In 2011 – 2012 we began upgrading the main 8 dog
runs. We extended the concrete floor to give more
room, built a plinth to situate the sleeping kennels off
the ground, built a dividing wall and gutter as
protection against the inclement weather conditions and to
prevent flooding of the sleeping areas.

Body shop
international - small grants project.

In September 2010 the Body Shop International invited our
organisation to submit an application for their small
grants sponsorship project in the amount of £3,000.
We submitted our plans for a much needed quarantine
building and we were approved receiving the amount of
€3,438. This amount covered the costs for 5 kennels
and the remaining 9 kennels are open to sponsorships
either from individuals, companies or groups.

Argos
Activities.

Argos is active in the Districts of Larnaca &
Famagusta in the implementation of the following
programmes:

Offers shelter to unwanted, sick and injured dogs and
cat.

Subsidised programme for low income families in
spaying/neutering their pets.

Investigates complaints of animal abuse and
reinstating better living conditions or where necessary,
confiscation of the animals.

Cooperation with the government in the implementation
of the spay/neuter/release of feral cats programme.

Total =

€23,040.00

Future plans.

The aim of the Argos Organisation is for the shelter to
become self-sufficient and future plans for the realisation
of our goal is the creation of various income-generating
outlets. These include:

Building

Progress

Veterinary Clinic

Foundations laid

Pet shop / gift shop

Part of the clinic
building

Pet grooming salon

Building commenced

Cafeteria

Plans being drawn

Boarding facility for
dogs and cats

Already in operation

Charity shop

Planned

Agility / dog
training courses

Completed and
operational

The success of any project is dependent upon an efficient
operational centre offering information, services,
educational / enlightenment programmes and recreational
activities for both the young and old visitor to the
centre. We are confident that the Argos shelter will
be viewed not only as a shelter to harbour destitute animals
but will become an important centre for social and community
development and a one-of-a-kind project.